A single member limited liability company without the standard language that must be included in organizational documents to obtain federal charitable exemption has been denied real estate tax exemption in New Jersey.  In an unpublished opinion, the state Tax Court has denied exemption for five properties owned by an LLC with a charity as its single member because the LLC itself does not claim to be a charitable organization in its organizational documents.

What happens when the trustee of a charitable remainder unitrust learns after the death of the donor that the donor had executed a deed transferring his residence to the CRUT but the administrator of the donor’s estate, not knowing the unrecorded deed existed, had sold the residence for $1.2 million?  An appellate court in California, in an unpublished opinion, has affirmed a trial court decision ordering the estate administrator to transfer the sale proceeds to the CRUT.

James Batmasian, a self-described person of extraordinary wealth with a history of substantial charitable giving, claimed that his 2008 conviction for failure to pay federal withholding taxes has caused “exceptional difficulties and hardships” to his “pioneering philanthropic endeavors” and his “desire to be proactive” with charity. 

Does a “most qualified applicant” hiring policy violate the Americans with Disabilities Act when the policy is used to deny a job to a qualified employee who was injured on the job and sought a transfer to a less physically demanding position as a reasonable accommodation for her disability?

The Dean of the business school of Temple University in Philadelphia is not an “officer” of the University and is not entitled to the advancement of legal fees to defend himself in connection with an administrative and criminal investigation, an appellate court has held.  The Court has reversed a trial court decision ordering the University to advance the Dean’s legal costs.

The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court has upheld the determination by the Department of State that a for-profit company that operates a portable amusement park providing rides, games and food for carnivals and pays a percentage of the ride fees to charities and other nonprofits is a “professional solicitor” that must register under the state’s charitable solicitation registration act.  It has upheld a cease and desist order prohibiting the company from running its carnivals within the state without registering as a solicitor.